Audition Results!

I mentioned before that Rachel recently auditioned for the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra. She actually auditioned last Saturday...and has waited until today for the results. The coveted letter finally arrived in the mailbox today and I'll let you guess if she made it or not by looking at the picture....She made it!!!! :) In the photo, she was already on the phone calling people!! She is so excited! We are very proud of her...of course, we'd have been proud had she not made it...but there are some moments in life worth celebrating! This is one of those. :) Yay, Rachel!

Audition

Rachel auditioned today for the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra. It was a "first" for her. Surprisingly, she wasn't nervous or anxious...UNTIL she went in for the actual audition. :) Then she was shaking like a leaf!! :) There were four judges and no one besides Rachel and the judges was allowed in the room. They asked her several questions, then asked her to play a scale. Her audition piece was Gavotte by Thomas. She has practiced and practiced and practiced for over a month!! The judges told her they were limited and could only hear one full minute of the piece. :) (All that practice time for just one minute!!!???) When I asked Rachel how she felt it went, she said, "I think I did pretty good." :)

Anyway....that part is over...and now...we wait.....

I'll post the results of the audition on the blog when we find out. They mail out "acceptance" or "rejection" letters so it will probably be later in the week. :) Stay tuned!

Yep, We're Still Here :)

Wow, has it really been almost a month since I posted anything here?? I guess I've been busy with life and just didn't realize it had been so long! :) Maybe you're wondering what's new. Well, let's see here....there's a new puppy named Ed....
a new calf named Hershey.... a new car (I think I'm in love)....

about 75 new jars of green beans adorning my pantry shelves....
and though I don't have pictures...we just started a new school year! :) I'm down to just two left in school now. Seems kinda strange. :) We have been homeschooling for quite a few years now, probably about twelve. That's a long time! We've got quite a supply of schoolbooks we've acquired over the years, so we only had to actually purchase just one textbook this year! That was nice.

The garden is doing well...but so are the weeds! We've been REALLY blessed with rain this year....so much that it's been hard getting in the garden! We actually flooded one day...both ponds overflowed. Considering we had two years of drought...I'm not complaining!

Rachel's audition is quickly approaching (Aug. 22) and she's been working very hard to prepare. :) Unfortunately for her, she will have to wait on an acceptance/rejection letter in the mail...hopefully the week after the audition. That'll be a long wait!!

So anyway, lots new going on here. Hope everything's good where you are!!!!

Auditioning!

Not sure if I mentioned it on the blog or not, but this summer, Rachel started with a new violin teacher at the recommendation of her old teacher. She felt like it was time for Rachel to move on to a new level of teaching. She's learned a lot from the new teacher, who is a very talented musician. She has "strongly" recommended that Rachel audition for the Knoxville Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Being as though the orchestra is (obviously) based in Knoxville, and we're an hour and a half away, we gave it a lot of thought and prayer. But we have decided to let her audition. No matter what happens, it'll be a good experience for her.

Her audition time is on the afternoon of August 22. She is SO excited/nervous/happy about this! In fact, she's already had a dream about receiving the acceptance/rejection letter in the mail...but in the dream, the letter is blurry and she can't tell if it's good or bad! LOL!

I remember when, at the age of seven, Rachel first mentioned wanting to play the violin. I also remember thinking..."hmmm, I wonder how long this will last. a week? maybe two?" :) It wasn't long after we got her a half-size violin and I saw the pleasure it gave her, that we prayed and asked the Lord to gift her with a talent to play for Him. We feel He answered that prayer. We are very thankful to Him and very proud of her.

I'm mentioning this well in advance because I'm sure she'd appreciate any prayers well in advance!!

Lazy Days of Summer

We're full swing into summertime now and I thought I'd just post a few pics of what we've been up to these days.

After two summers of drought, we've been blessed with an abundance of rain this year...it's been great for the garden and pasture!
Summertime around here means fishing in the Nolichucky...
Swimming in the Nolichucky...
This summer has meant graduations and birthdays...
And it's meant fun times with each other...(*somebody* needs a bit of a tan, but we won't mention Rachel's name. Afterall, you have to go *outside* to get a tan) :)
And Ah! Yes, we mustn't forget the *lazy* days of summer....it's tough being a farm dog...but somebody's gotta do it...














Might as well be these two lazy dogs...

Hope you're enjoying your summer as much as we are!!

Happy 18th Birthday, Jacob!

My son officially turned 18 yesterday. All I can say is that the past 18 years went by in a blur! It all happened way too fast and I'm left standing here in disbelief! :) Nonetheless, it's happened and I only know there's nothing I can do to stop it! :) Of course, I wouldn't stop it if I could. As much as I loved having babies in the house, I've so enjoyed watching this boy (all my children, for that matter) mature into a young adult.
Seemingly overnight, he went from being a curly-headed baby, to a Hot Wheels-loving toddler who loved being around grownups, to a serious 4 year old who memorized all the Presidents of the United States just by studying the encyclopedia!! LOL! He entered kindergarten as a self-motivated learner who taught his Mama many things...asking questions so far over my head that I almost always had to send him to his Daddy!! Many of his questions were so deep...I simply had to exasperatingly admit, "Son, I just don't know!". :) He has always been a *deep thinker*. He finished high school having two very difficult college courses under his belt....with A's in both classes. In late August, he'll be entering college full-time aiming for a degree in Business. I have no doubts he'll accomplish that goal if the Lord is willing.

What a blessing he's been through the years. I'm grateful for a son who is a sober-minded, hard-working, responsible CHRISTian young man. (CHRISTian being most important) Proverbs 10:1 says, "A wise son maketh a glad father..." I can heartily add that it makes a glad mother too. :)

Ya Just Never Know...

So, Jacob had to go to town last week to get some parts for his truck at Auto Zone. He pulls into the parking lot...and can hardly believe his eyes, but there is a BEAR walking across the lot! He goes inside and tells the men behind the counter..."You won't believe this, but there's a bear in your parking lot." Of course, at that point, everybody runs outside to see. People were using their cell phones to call the law. :)

We found out later (in the newspaper) that more bears were spotted in town too. There was one at Shoney's, a mama and her cubs at the city park, and another at Sonic. :) Not sure what's going on, but it sounds like they must be getting hungry in the wild and are coming to town to see what they can find to eat. :)


Ya just never know who you're gonna run into in town!